Good Things Come
by VermillionSky
Summary: With Tidus's arrival came the departure of Yuna from the Gullwings, leaving only Rikku and Paine. Things aren't so bad though, as the girls become good friends, over stiff drinks and late night conversations. Contains adult situations. Please R&R. [C1 Up]


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_Good Things Come  
A Story By VermillionSky_  
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_Though this is the eighteenth fic I've started work on over the last two years, and during that time I've written fics for a number of different stories, I keep coming back to two different bases. One is Harry Potter, and the other is Final Fantasy. Or more specifically Final Fantasy X-2. The game was poor, but the atmosphere, locations, and most importantly characters, are all superb to write about, and I get new ideas for them all the time._

_Some things to note with this fic - the characters may be slightly out of character, but with the planned storyline, it's probably unavoidable. I'll try and keep them true to themselves as much as possible without making this any less fun! And also, this fic takes place after the game, and with Tidus returning to Spira at the end :-)_

_Anyway, without further ado, here's the latest fic from me, entitled Good Things Come._

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New Times  
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"C'mon Paine, you know the rules, the question's gotta be answered," cooed the Al-Bhed girl, grinning at her. Paine shot her a look of feigned disgust, but Rikku knew that she was only pretending. The same could probably be said for herself too, probably!

The girls were sat on their beds, Rikku sitting upright, her legs crossed as she sat in the middle of her covers. Paine was slouched down on her own bed, her head resting against her pillows. They could hear the low hum of the airship's engines a few floors below them, as the night sky moved on by outside the cabin's windows. Buddy was a true insomniac, though he'd never admit it. The Celsius hardly stopped with him at the controls, exploring Spira even at night.

After they'd found Tidus, Rikku hadn't been surprised to see Yuna leaving the Gullwings. After all, the summoner had only joined herself and Paine with the narrow hope that they'd find her true love, and after the shock of finding him had subsided, Rikku had noticed her friend's attitude changing slightly. The energetic Yuna had been replaced with a content one, one that wanted to settle down somewhere, and get her chaotic life back on track. And Rikku couldn't blame her.

They'd said their goodbyes in Besaid, and though they all knew they'd be seeing each other often enough, Rikku felt saddened by the realisation that the days of YRP were indeed over. And it was a miracle that the Gullwings stayed together. Somehow it felt as if their mission had been completed, but it was soon evident that Buddy, Shinra, and Paine all wanted to continue as a team. And so did Rikku. Brother had left to work for Cid, doing godknowswhat, and she was never going to work anywhere near her father if she could help it, and Barkeep had left too, for reasons he didn't care to explain.

And so here they were. The team of seven was down to just 4, and the big airship felt a little colder, and a little emptier because of it. Though she'd never reveal it, she missed the crazed shouts of Brother, and the pondering nature of Barkeep. And the great friendship of Yuna. But things move on. The Gullwings were once again looking for spheres for a living, and things were once again as normal as they'd ever been.

And yet Yuna leaving had not been without one benefit, and that was to allow Rikku and Paine to get to know each other a lot more. They'd always been good friends, but it had only been since Yuna left that they talked to each other a lot more, and had become even better friends because of that. They shared each other's tastes in drinks, music, and enjoyed training together (though admittedly there was less need for weapon skills now that Vegnagun had gone). And whilst they differed completedly in what they wore, they'd managed to convince Buddy to take them to Luca for shopping trips together numerous times now.

A result of their friendship was an end to the relatively early nights they'd had in the past. In recent weeks, the two girls had taken to sitting awake until the early hours, talking and drinking as much as they could be bothered to. Most nights they recalled the recent past, or talked about their earlier years, their childhoods, places they'd been and the like. Tonight though, had started a little differently.

After a fruitless day searching the desert for an outside chance of a sphere (Brother had found very faint sphere waves in the area), the girls had returned to the cabin a little later than usual. Paine fixed herself a quick drink from the bar, and after polishing it off, had asked Rikku a quickfire question.

"Fancy a game of truth or dare?"

Rikku had been astounded to hear such a suggestion from Paine of all people, and after she'd regained her composure, managed a reply.

"I thought that was a game young girls played at sleepovers!"

"Well, I had a rubbish childhood," Paine had replied, smiling, before walking past Rikku and up the stairs to the beds. "C'mon, I know you're dieing to play, so let's get started!"

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_I was going to make that chapter longer, but decided it works well for an opening chapter, and this way I can get started on the next chapter straight away. And for people wondering what's going on with "The Little Red Book" and "Hexadecimal" at the moment - they're not abandoned, I'm just taking a break from writing them :-)_


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